Typically you want to stay away from any brands that use filler ingredients like maltodextrin and dextrose, or high glycemic sweeteners like maltitol. Many low-carb products that claim low net carbs usually use these sugar alcohols. Many candies that are “sugar-free” also use these sweeteners. Avoid them where possible. These specific sweeteners respond in our body in a similar way sugar does.

I have been on a Keto diet for a little over 2 weeks now. I am still getting tingly sensations and minor headaches, though I believe that will dissipate once I'm fully adjusted in another 2-4 weeks. I started running again and am pushing it pretty hard, so I'm sure that's contributing. It feels like when I used to starve myself for wrestling and I get a sense that my blood sugar is low. I have added hemp hearts (about 6 tablespoons per day) to help combat because I read more magnesium can help.

One of the fattiest nuts out there; because of their high content of monounsaturated fats, macadamia nuts are beneficial for cardiovascular health. As other nuts, they contain a lot of micronutrients, such as magnesium, calcium, copper, vitamin B6. Because of their high caloric content, you need to be particularly careful with properly measuring portion sizes.
I made this on Monday, let it sit in the fridge overnight and it was fabulous last night (Tuesday) and still fabulous tonight (Wednesday). My only minor issue was that the cream cheese didn’t seem to get smooth after blending and so after the cake sat and we ate it, you could taste the crumbles of cream cheese. When I started to bend the mixture (using hand mixer) I started off slow, then sped up the speed thinking that would help remove the clumps. But then I saw your note about not over-mixing because that would cause air pockets. I continued to blend but at a lower speed then just put it in the pan to bake..thinking maybe the clumps would sort themselves out while baking. What do you recommend for next time? Either way, it was fabulous! Thank you!!!
To all of those having issues with your cream cheese being lumpy. 1) Make sure your cream cheese is FULLY softened to room temperature. It’s okay to pop it in the microwave for fifteen seconds at a time to speed up the process a bit, but don’t allow it to run. 2) Having your eggs room temperature as well will also help prevent curdles in the cream cheese. Adding cold eggs to warm cream cheese without proper mixing can cause lumps. 3) A mixer (even a small hand mixer) is ideal. If unavailable, squish the cream cheese into the sugar with the bottom of a spoon, add eggs, squish again, then whisk gently until smooth.
Korma is a mild curry dish and is often what people try first when they are experimenting with Indian cookery. It has a creamy sauce which is made using all the usual Indian spices, but it does not have the heat of some curries. This great Keto recipe is also gluten-free but full of taste and would make a great family meal served over cauliflower rice.
Thanks for your question. Yes, millet and quinoa are seeds; however, they are much higher in carbs than the seeds discussed in the article. Depending on your carb tolerance and goals, you might be able to include them in your diet in small amounts. But it's my understanding that they wouldn't provide any additional benefit for gut health beyond what the lower-carb seeds and nuts do -- in fact, I'd argue that nuts and seeds would be more beneficial. Most of the carbs in millet and quinoa are digested and absorbed in the small intestine, which wouldn't have any effect on the microbiome. By contrast, most of the carbs in the seeds and nuts I recommend in the article are mainly fiber, including soluble fiber, which does promote gut health. I hope that helps! - Franziska
If you like smoothies but don’t fancy the banana-based ones as they can contain extra sugars, then a coconut yogurt-based one can solve the problem! With the natural sweetness of the berries, this drink makes a fresh and fruity start to the day or a lovely refreshing Paleo-friendly snack. This recipe could also be used to make a frozen yogurt dessert!
While this roasted seaweed snack doesn’t pack in as much fat as many of the other picks on our list, we think it’s worth adding to your keto shopping cart. It’s low in calories, sodium, and has an impressive zero net carbs thanks to the fiber. Plus, the dried sea veggie is filled with fat-soluble vitamins and minerals such as iron, manganese, and copper to maintain overall health.
For both keto and Bulletproof diets, opt for full-fat, grass-fed, raw, and organic dairy to reap the anti-inflammatory benefits of omega-3s and CLA. Dairy is a great source of fat on a ketogenic diet, but be mindful not over-do the protein. Although milk (yep, even raw, full-fat, or goat milk) is too high in lactose sugars, you can stay in ketosis with foods like butter, ghee, and colostrum. Avoid sweetened or low-fat dairy, evaporated or condensed milk, and buttermilk to keep your fat intake high.
Without too much vamping, I’ll just come clean and say that the Goods team loved the high-fat yogurts: The plain-flavored Peak tasted sumptuously round, with a sweet fattiness that made up for lack of sugar. The vanilla-flavored Peak was also delicious — a tangier, more chill cousin of panna cotta. By far, we agreed the Siggi’s Triple Cream was best. The 9 percent fat was luscious, but not so luscious that it wasn’t immediately recognizable as yogurt. We all thought the raspberry flavor would be great if it was, like, 3:30 pm and you were coming out of a doctor’s appointment and you wanted to eat something substantial that wouldn’t spoil your dinner.
Being rich in healthy oils makes these nuts particularly good for cardiovascular health [12]. Studies on macadamia oil show that it reduces inflammation and shrinks the size of fat cells [13]. This is helpful for people with obesity as inflammation and enlarged fat cells both make the disorder difficult to manage. Besides a perfect macros profile, macadamia nuts are also a good source of B vitamins, iron, manganese, and zinc.
Korma is a mild curry dish and is often what people try first when they are experimenting with Indian cookery. It has a creamy sauce which is made using all the usual Indian spices, but it does not have the heat of some curries. This great Keto recipe is also gluten-free but full of taste and would make a great family meal served over cauliflower rice.
This is one area where full keto and Bulletproof differ. Except for coconut, all nuts and legumes are suspect on the Bulletproof Diet and should be limited. All expose you to high amounts of omega-6s, inflammatory oxidized fats, mold toxins, and phytates (plant anti-nutrients). Peanuts are one of the main sources of mold toxins in our diets, and often trigger allergic responses with inflammatory polyunsaturated fats, lectins and histamines. The Bulletproof Diet also excludes all soy products due to their phytoestrogen content, which messes with your hormones and may promote cancer.

Dehydrated fruit. When fruit is dehydrated, the moisture is removed. This process makes dehydrated fruit more nutrient dense than its fresh counterpart and ensures higher carb and sugar count by weight. Take apricots for example. In 100 grams of raw apricot, there are 9 grams of net carbohydrates. But in 100 grams of dehydrated apricot, the net carb count skyrockets to 82 grams of net carbs. Pretty significant difference, and you’ll see the same thing with plums vs. prunes, raisins, cran-raisins, and all the other dried variety of fruits.

Nuts are commonly used in baking ketogenic desserts. For example, almond flour and coconut flour are often used as a substitute for regular flour in baked goods. If you are using nut flour to replace regular flour, make sure you know the correct substitution ratio. Most ketogenic recipes will take care of the conversions for you, but if you are experimenting and trying to create a keto version of a high carb recipe, keep these conversion tips in mind.

Why Greek yogurt? Well, if you are not on an absolutely zero-carb diet and don’t mind some dairy, either, you must admit that Greek yogurt is one of the most enjoyable snacks out there. Moreover, it is supposed to be full of the good little guys that help the gut remain healthy. Other than that, it is a soft and fluffy alternative to cream cheese. While I don’t mind the cheese, I do find it can mess with me if I eat too much of it. Besides, I’ve seen people complaining they hated cream cheese pancakes and wanted an alternative. Hopefully, this recipe comes in handy for some of them.

Strawberries are another delicious, sweet, and filling fruit that you can eat in moderation on the keto diet. A ½-cup serving of sliced strawberries contains about 4.7 g of net carbs and 4.1 g of sugar. As there are only 27 calories in the aforementioned serving, you can eat strawberries raw, add a few pieces to your cereal, or blend a handful into a small low-carb smoothie. Strawberries also have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, per a study published in February 2010 in the Journal of Medicinal Food. The same ½ cup provides 48.8 mg of vitamin C (81.3 percent DV), 127 mg of potassium (2.7 percent DV), and 20 micrograms of folate (5 percent DV).
However, most nuts also contain antioxidants that protect against linoleic acid oxidation, so considering the small amount of nuts most people eat, this is probably not a huge problem for you to worry about. And if you are worried, then dehydrating soaked nuts at low temperatures can be useful in reducing the possibility of PUFA damage along with the levels of phytic acids in nuts.

Consuming a higher amount of fat is important on a ketogenic diet, and getting a variety of different fats is recommended. I often get asked about potential snacks that someone can consume on the go. As a source of primarily unsaturated (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated) fats, nuts and seeds can be a great choice to include in your daily menu.

MCT stands for medium-chain triglycerides. These are unique types of saturated fats that studies show your body can easily turn into ketones [12]. MCT oil is a supplement that is a purified source of these fats. Because MCTs don't require bile and enzymes for digestion, they get easily absorbed in your small intestine and they reach the liver quickly where they're turned into ketones.

Over the last year, the keto diet has skyrocketed in popularity, probably for one very distinct reason: it encourages you to eat fatty foods. The only major caveat is that you have to keep your carb intake low. Offsetting this often-difficult task, however, is the keto diet's allowance of another beloved food group: dairy. Most cheeses are low in carbs, making them perfectly acceptable for the keto meal plan. The same goes for fatty dairy foods like butter and heavy cream, which almost seems too good to be true. A diet that gives you the thumbs-up when you eat butter? It's not hard to see how it caught on and spread like wildfire.

Vigorous exercising depletes muscle and liver glycogen [11]. However, keep in mind that it takes a lot of energy for this to happen. Some people even do extreme types of "glycogen depletion workouts" for this purpose. Weight lifting, and high-intensity intermittent training are good examples of glycogen-depleting workouts. If you can handle this type of activity, then do give it a go.

For those looking for something just a little closer to real sugar, you can use Xylitol. It cooks and tastes very similar to sugar, but it has a slight glycemic impact (13 vs. 100 for sugar). It is great, but please keep in mind that it is very toxic to animals and it will raise insulin levels slightly. These are the two most cited reasons for not using Xylitol.

“The problem with the stated carbohydrate content on the packages of fermented food products arises because the government makes manufacturers count the carbohydrates of food “by difference.” That means they measure everything else including water and ash and fats and proteins. Then “by difference,” they assume everything else is carbohydrate. This works quite well for most foods including milk. However, to make yogurt, buttermilk and kefir, the milk is inoculated with the lactic acid bacteria. These bacteria use up almost all the milk sugar called “lactose” and convert it into lactic acid. It is this lactic acid which curds the milk and gives the taste to the product. Since these bacteria have “eaten” most of the milk sugar by the time you buy it (or make it yourself.) At the time you eat it, how can there be much carbohydrate left? It is the lactic acid which is counted as carbohydrate. Therefore, you can eat up to a half cup of plain yogurt, buttermilk, or kefir and only count 2 grams of carbohydrates (Dr. Goldberg has measured this in his own laboratory.) One cup will contain about 4 grams of carbohydrates. Daily consumption colonizes the intestine with these bacteria to handle small amounts of lactose in yogurt (or even sugar-free ice cream later.) “

Unfortunately, all of these fruits are high in carbs and sugar. To put this into context, if you were to eat a whole mango, you'd be consuming more than 30 grams of sugar and 50 grams of carbs. Bananas are also high sugar and carbs — very unfortunate since they're so useful for smoothies. If you're looking for that creamy texture, you can always replace them with the keto-friendly avocado as an alternative.

My main reason for contacting is the problem I may have with chewing sugar free chewing gum ( two packs a day )whilst on this diet. I need to chew most of the time to somewhat disguise the constant spasming to my mouth. Can you suggest a chewing gum that is suitable whilst on this diet? Thank you for the information and references you have provided. If you know of anything regards this diet and dystonia, I would be most grateful.

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The whole point of going keto is to reach ketosis, a cult-y sounding name for the metabolic process that happens when your body uses fat instead of carbs for energy. To get there, you've gotta do the obvious: eat a whole lot of fat and little to no carbs. It's restrictive, but if you hack the the system just right, you can still create surprisingly delicious food—like taquitos and cookie dough bites. (These are our favorite keto recipes, by the way.)